THE PERFORMANCE | Just as Ziva knew that her father, given his long tenure with the Mossad, was living on the razor’s edge, many of us as viewers knew that something was afoot as Eli’s latest visit neared. Nonetheless, just like Ziva, we were shocked and shattered by the what, and the how.

Capping an hour that explored the many colors of this complicated father-daughter relationship — including the NCIS agent’s disappointment to learn that the episode’s murder victim died at his hand — Ziva tried to share Shabbat dinner with him at the Vances’, but had her fill of his words before having one bite of food. As she then stepped outside to cool off, hot bullets came flying at the Vance home. After hunting down the shooter, Ziva raced inside to check on her father, but the look on Tony’s face telegraphed the worst of news. As Ziva set her own eyes upon Eli’s lifeless body, de Pablo’s expression instantly morphed from professional resolve into horror into, as she cradled his head in her arms, the weeping visage of a little girl who’d lost her abba. There was no holding back for de Pablo as the actress let her alter ego’s emotions, and tears, flow, whispering a Hebrew prayer into her late father’s ear. WATCH IT HERE:

HONORABLE MENTION |Once Upon a Time‘s Lana Parrilla, who in the ABC drama’s winter premiere successfully ran the gamut from heartbreaking (as Regina helplessly failed to prove herself to son Henry) to wise-cracking to, in the flashbacks, the most menacing of all.

I cannot believe any person could have been any better than Cote. Her Ziva was a masterpiece. I watched her over and over and over. I have not seen many women who could hold a candle to her in looks. To me she was my Angel (I am 95 butI still have a brilliant memory) Ziva, I am going to miss you more than you can ever believe. I shall wait for whatever it is that lured you away. I was NOT a Tony fan at all. His ego was treacherous, snooping, taking others’ ideas and sending them to Jethro Gibbs as his own. I am sure I, under the right circumstances, would have been another Jethro in the War. I could have been a sniper and enjoyed it. Arthur Burke Sr

Matt, I TOTALLY agree with you. I was blown away with pride by Cote’s performance. I’ve always loved Ziva for her many, many complexities. She has always been my favorite character among an already fantastic cast, and is the one I owe credit for drawing me in as a vested fan. I could identify with her the most. It has been a intriguing, fascinating journey watching Ziva David find her place, her value, and her identity in the world of NCIS. I cannot wait to see what’s in store next for this wonderful character. Kudos to you, Ms. DePablo; every accolade you receive from your hard work in the near future will be well-deserved. :)

Cote freaking blew me away with her performance, not just in that scene when she returns and sees her father dead, but throughout the entire episode. An amazing performance. Rocky Carroll was also brilliant. That ending was wow.

Although Cote did a fantastic job, I definitely would have picked Lana as first choice. She had such a brilliant range in the latest episode – going from snarky yet vaguely happy to heartbroken in SB, playing Cora-as-Regina Regina, going from “regretful” to crazy in FTL… Her ‘final words’ speech was absolutely amazing, and was done on a green screen. Very talented.

I loved Lana’s performance on Sunday! I totally forgot about the “Cora as Regina” part of it. Good catch! This only furthers my belief that she is raising the bar on what could otherwise be a very campy show. Love her work as the evil queen!

Completely agree. Cote did an excellent job in this episode and all the praise she is getting for it is well deserved. That scene at the end and the word Abba are stuck in my head and I can’t get it out.

she is so talented , beautiful, nice actress, she achivied with her performance in this epi to go trough screen and emotive NCIS viewers, , she made me cry like baby , when she screamed ABBA!!! this is heartbreaking scream, this comes her soul and heart, she is really wonderful actress and thanks so much tvline for giving her some recognition to cote de pablo and NCIS cast and crew… tha they deserves more…
I hope cote de pablo follows brilliant as now, she deserves it and more

Cote’s performance was astounding, touching and heartbreaking. Perfect. Well done, TVLine, Lana Parrilla does deserve an honourable mention. Her acting is just crazy amazing. Both very powerful women on screen.

Human beings should be able to feel that thing called empathy, not because you love or admire the other person but because you recognize their raw emotion and you ask yourself “what if I was in their shoes / what if that thing happened to me too” or simply you went through it too and you know exactly how that pain feels like.

I’ve found that, more often than not, it has become best to not respond about Cote if one does not share this fervent devotion that she tends to inspire. That’s why there are likely few contrary opinions. For the record, I don’t like Ziva or Tony and Ziva. I think that Cote is a perfectly fine actress who seems like a nice person and enjoys her fellow co-workers. I did shed a tear when Eli was shown to be dead and Ziva sat with his body, but it is a significant stretch for me to say that Cote was brilliant or even that that was one of the most brilliant performances in the show’s history. Cote did her job and she did it well, but I would not say that she was brilliant.

Yes, Cote de Pablo did such a marvelous job of calling out for her ABBA, and we felt like we were right there feeling Ziva’s pain, watching her cradled her Abba’s head and crying as she realized she lost the last of her immediate family!!!! I still tear up thinking about it days laters. She deserves all the awards for this episode.

Amazing show and an amazing cast! I love how this show continues to grow and the cast evolve. Ziva/Cote has always been a favorite of mine and I was thrilled for her with her performance. She is a gem, I love how her character in particular has evolved — please, please, please sign the contracts already so I can breathe! :)

Gary Glasberg is the reason NCIS is no.1 and has been for almost ten years. What a twist in the Ziva arch! Just like he has in the pass he’s stunned us once again. No one is safe in a Glasberg series!!!

Not all that heartbroken about Eli dying, but heartbroken about what it does to Ziva. As for Cote’s performance? There are not many actresses out there that can pull off a performance that lets ME feel the characters pain. Yet she did that with one word. That is why she deserves all the awards.

Her screaming Abba is something that will be etched in to my memory and gives me goosebumps 10 miles high every time I hear it (Not to mention leaves me sobbing pile on the floor). The raw emotion, the horror she felt was conveyed in that one single word and there are not many actors/actresses out there that can pull that off. She’s amazing and she deserves all the awards.

Cote de Pablo is truly the best actress I know. I wouldn’t even call her an actor but an artist instead because her performances are always to an A++++!! And you believe in it, you really believe that a girl breaks because her father is dead!
She is so amazing and I really wish for her to get an adward :D :D

It was so good I watched it again the next morning. :) When the bullets exploded in the Vance’s home it was such a shock. The episode had been going along as normal up until that point. Cote did an excellent job and when her face dissolved into a girl crying out for her father, it was heart wrenching. So good. What added to the heartbreak were the last exchanges she had with her dad. No do-overs. No resolving. No chance to come together at some point in the future. Sad sad.

Perfect choice. This was an amazing episode, and Cote de Pablo was incredible. Even before the bullets flew, which I did not see coming, she was superb. When Ziva cried “Abba”, I choked up and the tears were streaming. Absolutely gut-wrenching. And then the prayers… Yes, perfect choice.

Throughout the years, there have been a few scenes on this show that, no matter how many times I watch them, make me cry like a baby. This scene moved to the top of that list. It’s haunting and will stick with me forever. It was perfectly played by Cote and she DEFINITELY deserves all the awards for it!